This Myrtle Beach destination wedding at Breakers Resort created a magical day for Albert and Cheryl Rosa. In fact, Cheryl’s unique personality showed through with her handcrafted bouquet and use of a vintage car. It doesn’t stop there, as it is also sure to put a smile on your face when you realize their dog plays an important role in their bridal party.

It was a beautiful day in North Myrtle Beach as the Wojcik couple renewed their vows with their son as their lead the ceremony for his parents. They couldn’t have chosen a more stunning location then North Beach Plantation. It was a simple yet lovely ceremony that will forever mean the world to them as they continue their lives together!

If you are looking for a luxurious venue for a wedding of any size, look no further than 21 Main and North Beach Plantation!

This beautiful South Carolina wedding was a wonderful treat and perfect example of the southern charm that comes standard with down home weddings. They were such a sweet couple and easy to photograph which made for a ton of fun. The dress was found at Amanda's Collection in Conway, South Carolina and floral arrangements by Granny's Florist.

Being one of the last events of my 2014 season, this beautiful Christmas time wedding was absolutely a blast. With all the fun that 2014 came with, it was wonderful to end on such a great note. At Saint Peter's Lutheran Church, the couple said their vows and had a wonderful reception that followed. My good friend, Pastor Jeff Dunn of Christ United Methodist Church officiated the ceremony and did a wonderful job with an emotional message that made everyone's hearts swell. I think my favorite moment was when he took the opportunity to charge the crowd with praying for the couple and their upcoming life together, then asked the couple to turn around and see all the hands raised of those willing to commit to helping strengthen the bond these two were creating. All in all a wonderful day and I think everything turned out beautifully.

Lowcountry weddings are always special to me. Don't really know why I am so encapsulated by it, but there is something about the mixture between the inlet, beach life and southern hospitality that makes me feel at home. One place that is a wonderful example of what the lowcountry has to offer, is Pawleys Plantation. With a wonderfully appointed reception hall and accompanying rooms, it's perfect for almost any size wedding.

If you would like to know more about my photography and schedule a consultation, please visit my contact page!

Myrtle Beach is a fun town with many unique venues for weddings and other events. We have everything from historical landmarks, to grand ballrooms and everything in between. One of my absolute favorite venues in town has to be the Myrtle Beach Historic Train Depot. It's a smaller venue that holds somewhere around 175 to 200 people maximum that is perfect for intimate weddings and other events. I was fortunate to shoot a wedding there this summer for some dear friends of mine, Jeremy and Sydney.

The south end of the Grand Strand is one of the most beautiful places on earth with it's sweeping marshes and lush forestry, it really makes for a great backdrop for photo sessions. One of the places that sits very high on my recommendation list is Caledonia.

Fuquay Varina is a small town outside of the Raleigh/Durham area in eastern North Carolina. With the hillsides causing a certain ebb and flow in the roads; I can feel the ground change, I am closer to the foothills of mountains. What a wonderfully unexpected change from the flat beach land that I am used to. I had no idea what to expect when driving up from Myrtle Beach or what I would be coming to.

Engagement photos are some of my favorite things in the whole world to shoot. I know that almost any blog post on a photographer's website could start that way but let me explain why:

I love engagement sessions because it's so easy to see the love between two people. I don't just mean the love that you see plastered all over bridal magazines and Pinterest, I mean the personal, hilarious and quirky love that every single couple shares, but is unique to every pair. I know that my wife and I have little things that make us crack up with a single word and every couple I have had the opportunity to shoot has always had something between them that you can just tell that no one else in the world knows.

Most all photos stay to a very small number of crop ratios that fit the standards of today's print decorations. 2:3 which is the most commons gives a great surface area for landscapes and portraits. Another type of crop that is very popular is 1:1 square. With Instagram, retro instant film and medium format lomography cameras gaining popularity, the square format is starting to make a rise in decorative prints. Though most of my work is done in this format, every now and again, I get an itch to edit my photos in a little different way.

So, now that the coast is clear and Hillary and Brent are now married, I can finally post Hillary's Bridal Portraits!

First of all, CONGRATS to Hillary and Brent! And secondly, I would like to thank Hillary for such a wonderful shoot. This session took place in downtown Conway, starting in the same place the groom's mother had her photos taken and then ending down near the train tracks. Conway is one of my favorite places to shoot just for the fact that it's so historical. I love brick building and ivy fences and luckily for me, Conway is built on those things! Enjoy!

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Now I have to be honest. Some of these photos were extremely easy to capture genuine surprise....because she was genuinely surprised! I had the honor to help out with my second surprise engagement session this year. I love these!

Meet Dominique and Stephanie: they are a wonderful couple who were celebrating their anniversary together with photos, but little did she know that he had contacted me without her knowing to request that I help him with this momentous occasion! They are so great together and a ton of fun to watch interact with each other. I love watching couples who so obviously enjoy each others company. Anyway, on to the photos!

When trying to capture real moments I have always found that it is most easy to start with a real one. See, most people are not very good at posing themselves (I include myself in that category). I like to pose a couple and then take a few shots so I have a posed photo for the set but then go fiddle in my bag or on the back of my camera so they are no longer paying attention to me. Now I am catching the couple in their natural state of reacting with each other. Another thing I like to do, it say I am just testing my light so these don't count and the couple forgets about me for a minute.

Engagement Photos are the perfect story telling medium. You have a great romance to share with the viewer and you only have a certain amount of images to do it in. Sure you could take 5,000 photos but the amazing emotional content will be lost just because of sheer size. Like a high end restaurant, there are less things on the menu because after purging all the bad and mediocre, you are left with the best they have to offer. Thats why I wanted to tell this story in just 4 images:

These types of photos are just invaluable because I, as a photographer am prepared to create images that are more natural and personal. If all I ever do are posed portraits, they could probably save money by just going to Olan Mills or Walmart. The reason clients choose more creative photography is for the CREATIVITY. I feel I have a romantic photojournalistic style to my engagement shoots and this definitely falls in the category. What is your style? What do you like? Comment Below!

Remember that if you would like to book me for a photo session or you have something special in mind to surprise your loved one, please contact me at jarrett@jarretthucks.com or by phone: 843.446.4929

I am getting married very soon! It's finally becoming very real!
See, Annie and I are the last of three couple in my church getting married within a 6 week period and I had the pleasure of photographing one of them. While shooting this wedding for a long time friend Kim, and, her now husband, Kevin, I was able to practice a little for how we would like to set up the church for our ceremony. Bonus Points! With all jokes aside, it was a beautiful ceremony and an absolute joy to shoot. Everyone was relaxed and able to have fun and enjoy the day. Here is a little taste from the photos afterward.

More photos after the jump!

My pastor married Kim and Kevin, who happens to be Kim's uncle, and after the ceremony and the formal photos were done, it was time for the marriage license to be signed.

Pastor Buddy pulled his pen out of the breast pocket of his suit jacket. Many forget that a pen is similar to a watch; a piece of functional jewelry for a man. A piece of his own personal history that holds genuine and amazing history that signifies what he has been through in his life. Well Pastor Buddy's pen is absolutely one of those types of constants throughout his life. After joining the ministry, he was given this pen. a beautiful, slender work of art that he has always kept. A pastor has many jobs; he brings us all together for sermons, marriages, funerals and more than I could tell you. But this pen has a special story because after having it for over 30 years, it has only ever been used for one thing: signing marriage licenses.

This pen has only ever graced the hands of people on the most important day of their lives as they spiritually, emotionally and, with the pen, legally bind themselves to one another. This pen has one job, and that is to permanently mark a contract of two people's love for each other.

Call me a romantic but I think this pen has an awesome story!

Did you have an item used in your wedding that has a significant meaning? How about something you keep with you every day? Let me know in the comments below!

So, many people have their favorite lenses that they own or have owned and many drool over certain pieces of glass that they feel will boost their photography to the next level.
That piece for me was the 85mm 1.8. I had such of love affair with this lens and after getting it, I haven't really used it much. But still I was determined to continue my photographic journey to professional status so I started to use it and have really fallen in love with what I can produce with it, but I figured I needed to continue investing in to my equipment to take better photos. Well one day cruising around craigslist, I found a Sigma 70-200mm 2.8 for sale just an hour away from me. I couldn't pass up the opportunity of at least inquiring about it. Well after a few emails, the seller informed me that she was parting with a bunch of her equipment. She knew what she had but was willing to make a deal. I ended up walking away with the 70-200mm Sigma. She also had a few other things that sparked my interest, like a 17-55mm 2.8 which I passed on but she did talk me in to coming home with the handy dandy Nikon 105mm 2.8g Micro. Both were in pristine condition but I still only paid around 60% less than retail which for such a big purchase is impressive.

Anyway, I used the 70-200 constantly on photo shoots, weddings, pretty much anything outdoors just because there is something commanding about a lens that size. I know that sounds ridiculous and a bit narcissistic, but every photographer starting out has issues with being taken seriously. This lens was my ticket to the "not to be taken lightly" glances by those around who thought of me as a just another kid who thinks he knows what he's doing.

Well all this time goes by, probably six months, and I haven't even touched the 105 macro. This is ridiculous because it is by far the most impressive lens I own but I can never make anything work right with it. It always produced blurry and soft images. Most would get annoyed, blame the equipment and sell it off; but I keep it. Why do I keep it?

Maybe it's because I suck at letting things go. I'm great at finding deals but I am awful at selling off things that I can't or don't use. I usually hold on to them for way to long and then it bites me in the butt when I finally decide to sell something and its three generations behind and.worth half of what I think it is. I have been burned like this plenty of times.

But.... this is not one of those times. See, I realized shortly after I bought it, that this lens was too much for me, I couldn't make it work because I didn't know how to yet. I was still stuck in the "I must shoot wide open all the time" phase and didn't understand how to use it to its potential.

To tell you the truth, I still don't yet, but I'm learning and I am shooting with it at my level now. I am gaining an eye for it and I can see where this lens could be a permanent fixture in my lineup to come. More than just a few nice shots of engagement rings, this lens is great for all types of shots. One use I have found, is babies. Having my first encounter with baby portraits just recently, I learned how to make the distance and depth of field and all the magic inside this lens work for me.

So, this is the first blog post of it's kind. I just recently had the wonderful opportunity to share one of the largest moments in a couple's life: their engagement. After a few brief coded phone calls, I was enlisted to help Justin surprise his girlfriend on the beach with a special not in a bottle on the beach and a beautiful proposal. They were such a treat to work with and I am very excited to present their photos to them. Hope you enjoy the photos and the video!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP5lfu4DeP4&w=640&h=360]

So today, I figured I would share some photos from my time in front of the camera instead of behind it. I got engaged last year and as you might know, I will be getting married later this year to my wonderful fiance, Annie. Last weekend we spent some time down in Charleston, SC with our good friend Mary King (fellow photographer) taking some photos for us. It is such a different experience being in front of the camera! I don't really care for it myself but I enjoyed spending some time with Annie and getting all dressed up and having fun. I feel like I learned a lot as a photographer and gained a ton of respect for my past and future subjects. Taking a photo is a difficult thing to do well, but getting your photo taken takes patience, confidence and trust of your photographer. Thanks to all my clients for trusting me! Enjoy!

If you would like to see more of Mary's work, you can check her out here!

I had the honor of photographing my cousin's wedding in December. This would be my first Christmas themed wedding and I enjoyed every minute of it! Everything was so relaxed and good. They had the opportunity to enjoy their entire wedding without any major mishaps! They are both very fun, loving people and you can see it through everything they do!

Wow! 2012 was an awesome year! It was a wonderful time of growth for me and my photography. I travelled to 3 other countries, a few very large conventions, and most importantly I asked my wonderful girlfriend to be my wife! I would like to thank all those who have helped encourage me this year and my photography friends, largely Mary King, who helped me learn more than I have the words to list.
So, a new year, another set of goals to be had. There is something magical about wiping the slate clean and starting a new year; the thought of getting a new year to work on your dreams is exciting and wonderful. I must admit though, new year's resolutions have never been my forte. I most always fall back in to what is comfortable and forget that I wanted things to be different. But, for some reason, this year feels different. I am so excited about this year, my photography is transforming to something I have an even stronger passion for; not to mention that I am getting married this year!

I have new gear, a new perspective and list of goals for 2013 that I think will all add up to an awesome opportunity for both me and my readers and fans. Look forward to some new and exciting things in 2013!

On to the fun part!

This is a small teaser from Troy and Heather's wedding. What a wonderful couple they were to work with! I loved watching them interact with each other and I am so honored to have been part of this special day. It was a December wedding with a beautiful Christmas theme. It was my last wedding in 2012 and I can't think of a better one to end with!

Lastly, I would like to thank you. If it was not for you, this blog would not exist! I love being able to share my journeys with all those that are willing to read them! So thank you so much!

Love is in the air and I have been lucky enough to help capture two special days for two lovely couples!

I had two different opportunities to be a second shooter for two different friends who had been commissioned to shoot wedding in the span of a week. This was my first submersion in to the world of wedding photography and it was so much fun working with the couples.

In the past, I have helped many couple prepare for their big day by helping them learn how to dance and how to apply said dances to their song of choice but never have I taken a photo at a wedding.

The wonderful thing about being a second shooter is that I have a little more creative freedom as instructed by the lead photographer. As the lead photographer gets the shot they need for the album, I have the opportunity to get a different vantage point or focus on something different. The first two shots I am posting are from a wedding I did a couple weeks ago with my good friends Mallory and Stephen. It was fun time in an older catholic church here in Myrtle Beach, and then a nice reception at a beachside resort.

It was fun to watch the couple interact and learn how catch those fun little pieces to help them remember their special day.

The second set of photos in from a wedding last weekend where I helped my good friend Mary. The couple was a little younger and had a ton of energy and great participation in the reception. The two shots I chose were a quick snap shot outside the reception hall as the sun was going down and then a shot of the bride and her flower girl who had matching sparkly Toms on. What a fun wedding!

I really enjoyed working weddings and I can't wait for my next opportunity to share in the next couple's big day!